Game

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a game comprising a playing board (1); a dome (2) attached to the board; and cubes (3) positioned within the dome. In corresponding games known from the prior art, the cubes are unfixed and can be moved by hands, as a result of which moves against the rules are possible. In the game according to the invention, the cubes (3) can be moved and turned without touching them by hands, because the playing board (1) and the cubes (3) are provided with interlocking pegs (4) and holes (5) which enable the cubes to be turned while preventing their sideward displacement when the playing board is tilted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a game comprising a substantiallyplanar playing board divided into playing squares; a dome at leastpartially transparent and fastened to the playing board so as to definea closed space together with the board; cubes of the same sizepositioned in the closed space, the number of the cubes being smallerthan that of the squares of the playing board; and interlocking meansprovided in each square and in the sides of the cubes for detachablyfastening the cubes to the square.

In a game known from the prior art, the playing board comprises a gridof 4×4 squares, on which grid e.g. fifteen cubes of the same size arepositioned. The sides of each cube comprise various symbols of whichpatterns are to be formed by turning the cubes alternately by handsthrough 90° around their edge. The symbols are usually colours.

A drawback of this prior art game is that the cubes are unfixed, so thatthey can be turned and moved against the rules either by accident bypushing, for instance, or deliberately. For correcting the mistake thegame often has to be restarted.

U.S. Pat. Specification No. 4,373,732 discloses a game in which theplaying board comprises pegs which fit into holes in the cubes forfastening the cubes in place. In this case, too, the cubes are moved andturned by hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a game in whichaccidental or deliberate moving of the cubes against the rules isprevented. The game according to the invention is characterized in thatthe interlocking means of the squares of the playing board and the cubesare shaped so as to prevent the cubes from sliding along the board whileallowing the cubes to be turned around their edge when the playing boardis tilted.

In the game according to the invention the cubes are not turned by handsfor revealing the desired symbol; instead, the cubes are turned bytilting the playing board. Therefore the cubes can be positioned withina closed space which cannot be reached from the outside, so that movesagainst the rules cannot be made, which is of vital importance for themeaningfulness of the game.

On the basis of experience or experiments, it is not difficult for oneskilled in the art to provide the playing board and the cubes withinterlocking means which meet the above-mentioned requirements. At theirsimplest, these means may be formed by a projection provided in theplaying board and a recess or hole provided in the cube.

In order that the cubes could be turned from one peg to another aseasily as possible, it is advisable that the projection is asubstantially conical peg. The peg thereby preferably has the shape ofan elliptical parabolic.

In order to ascertain that the cubes cannot be moved against the rules,it is advisable to fasten the dome to the playing board in anundetachable manner.

One preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that theheight of the closed space in a direction perpendicular to the playingboard is greater than the diagonal of the side of the cube and smallerthan the sum of the height of the cube and that of the peg. Such aheight of the closed space enables the cubes to be turned around theiredge while preventing the cubes from changing places when the game is,for instance, turned upside down. These features thus decisively promotethe achievement of the object of the invention. A suitable height of theclosed space is about 1.5 times the length of the edge of the cube.

In the invention, it is preferable that the cubes are supported in thesideward direction as well as possible. Therefore it is preferable thatthe cross-sectional area of the dome in a plane parallel with theplaying board corresponds in shape and size to the playing board areacomprising the squares.

In order to prevent two or more cubes from turning simultaneously whenthe playing board is tilted, it is to be preferred in the invention thatthe surfaces of at least some of the squares are at a small angle withrespect to each other. With a small grid, it may thereby suffice that atleast some of the outermost squares incline towards the edge of theplaying board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following one preferred embodiment of the game according to theinvention will be described in more detail with reference to theattached drawing, wherein

FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of the game according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the game when one of the cubes is moved fromone square to another; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the game when one of the cubes is shown incross-section;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The game shown in the figures comprises a substantially planar, rigidplaying board 1; a transparent dome 2 attached to the playing board; andcubes 3 equal in size and positioned in a closed space defined by thedome and the playing board.

In this particular embodiment, the playing board 1 is rectangular inshape and so dimensioned that six cubes 3 can be positioned thereon. Theplace occupied by one cube on the playing board is called a square, andto enable the game to be played, one of the squares is left empty, thatis--there is no cube positioned thereon. Each square of the playingboard comprises a projecting peg 4 which is positioned at the center ofthe square and which is substantially conical in shape, so that ittapers towards its free end. The peg 4 preferably has the shape of anelliptical paraboloid.

The sides of the cubes comprise various symbols, such as colours, insuch a manner, for instance, that two or three sides have the samecolour. Three holes 5 go through the cubes, which holes are positionedon three central lines of the cube so that they meet in the middle ofthe cube. Each side of the cube thus comprises a hole 5. The pegs 4 andthe holes 5 are so dimensioned that the pegs fit into the holes.

The pegs 4 and the holes 5 fasten the cubes detachably to the squares ofthe playing board, because they prevent the cubes from sliding along theplaying board when the board is tilted. The pegs and the holes, however,allow the cubes to be turned through 90° around their edge when theplaying board is tilted, see FIG. 2.

The dome 2 is preferably fastened to the playing board in such a mannerthat is cannot be detached. The height of the dome should be sufficientfor the cube 3 to be able to turn around its edge without touching thetop of the dome. The height of the closed space of the game thus has tobe greater than the diagonal of the side of the cube. On the other hand,the dome has to be sufficiently low so that the cubes are not able tochange places as a result of movement in the sideward direction when thegame is positioned upside down, for instance. This is achieved when theheight of the closed space is smaller than the sum of the height of thecube, i.e., the length of its edge, and the length of the peg 4. In theembodiment shown in the drawing, the height of the closed space is about1.5 times the length of the edge of the cube.

The cubes 3 stand on the playing board 1 and are supported against eachother and the side walls of the dome 2 in the sideward direction. Thisis achieved when the cross-sectional area of the dome in a planeparallel with the playing board corresponds in size and shape to theplaying board area comprising the squares.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the invention in which the squarespositioned at the end of the game incline towards the edge of theplaying board by a small angle 6, so that the cubes positioned thereonare in a slightly slanting position. This structure prevents two cubesfrom turning simultaneously when the playing board is tilted.

The game is played by tilting the playing board in such a manner that acube 3 adjacent to an empty square turns through 90° around its edge, asshown in FIG. 2. The pegs 4 and the holes 5 prevent the sidewarddisplacement of the cubes from one square to another while they allowthe turning mentioned above. The turning of the cubes is continueduntil, e.g., the upper sides of all cubes have the same colour.

The pegs 4 and holes 5 shown in the figures can be replaced with otherinterlocking means. The holes 5 can be replaced with recesses, and thepegs 4 can be shorter than those shown in the figures. In addition, thesurface of the playing board can be completely planar. The game shown inthe drawing comprises six squares and five cubes but the number of boththe squares and the cubes may differ from that. However, the number ofthe cubes always has to be smaller than that of the squares. It is alsoto be noted that the word square does not mean a square marked on theplaying board; as used herein, the word refers to the area covered bythe cube on the playing board. The dome 2 may be partly non-transparent.

I claim:
 1. A game comprising a substantially planar playing board (1)divided into playing squares; a see-through dome (2) fastened to theplaying board (1) so as to define a closed space together with the board(1); cubes (3) of the same size positioned in the closed space, thenumber of the cubes being smaller than that of the squares of theplaying board; and interlocking means (4, 5) provided in each square andin sides of the cubes for detachably fastening the cubes to the square,wherein the interlocking means (4, 5) of the squares of the playingboard (1) and the cubes (3) are shaped so as to prevent the cubes (3)from sliding along the board (1) while allowing the cubes to be turnedaround their side edges when the playing board is tilted and wherein atleast some of the squares are slightly inclined with respect to eachother.
 2. A game according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking meansare formed by a projection (4) provided in the playing board and arecess or hole (5) provided in the cube.
 3. A game according to claim 2,wherein the projection is a substantially conical peg (4).
 4. A gameaccording to claim 3, wherein the peg (4) has the shape of an ellipticalparaboloid.
 5. A game according to claim 2, wherein the ehight of theclosed sapce in a direction perpendicular to the playing board (1) isgreater than the diagonal distance across one of said sides of the cube(3) and smaller than the sum total of the lenght of one edge o the cubeand the height of one projection from the playing board.
 6. A gameaccording to claim 1, wherein the dome (2) is fastened to the playingboard (1) in such a manner that the dome cannot be detached from theplaying board.
 7. A game according to claim 5, wherein the height of theclosed space is about 1.5 times the length of one side edge of the cube(3).
 8. A game according to claim 1, wherein a top side of the dome, ina plane parallel with the playing board (1), has an area correspondingin size and shape to the playing board area comprising the squares.
 9. Agame according to claim 1, wherein at least some squares, along theperimeter of the playing board, incline towards at least one side edgeof the playing board.